Turkey holiday baby too weak to fly home

A Russian child born prematurely in Turkey while his parents were on holiday is to remain there for at least another 20 days. The parents have decided not to risk the boy's life by flying him back to Russia immediately.

The baby – born healthy but two months early – is being treated by doctors in the resort of Antalya. He was left there last week by his parents, who couldn't afford the medical bills.

A team of Russian doctors had been on standby to escort the child back to Russia.

Earlier, Leonid Roshal, one of Russia’s most senior paediatricians, explained why he thinks it's best for the baby to stay in Turkey for the time being.

“I don't want to talk about the irresponsibility of the parents, who went on vacation so late in the pregnancy. What we have is a baby, who was born healthy. However he was born prematurely and needs intensive medical care to help him function.Somebody decided that the baby should travel to Russia immediately after he was taken off the ventilator. It's possible the baby will be able to survive the flight, but it's very dangerous. If this was my grandson, I would never allow this to happen. That's why I decided to intervene. I talked to the doctors in Turkey and at present I believe that there are no conditions that would allow this baby to be transferred to Russia. At this point, all financial and social issues have been settled, and I’m happy to say the baby can stay in Turkey for another month,” he said.

“I was really looking forward to finally taking my baby home to Russia , but my baby's health is most important to me, so I’ll be here as long as it takes for him to be ready to fly home,” Yulia Korsakova, the baby’s mother, stressed.

Yulia Korsakova gave birth while on holiday with her husband at the Turkish resort of Antalya, but they were unable to pay medical costs and had to leave the child in hospital. The couple didn't have the cash to pay a $US 1,500-a-day hospital bill. They came back to Russia and turned to Russia’s consulate for assistance. After a round of negotiations, their insurance company and travel agency agreed to cover the expenses.

Yulia’s son, Sergey, has been kept in an incubator at the Anadolu Hospital in Turkey’s Antalya. He began to breathe on his own only a day ago and the hospital’s doctors are very happy with his progress.